Hello everyone! We've been waiting on official word that my daughter's dream was approved before starting the pre-trip report. We got word today! So here goes!
I'm Melissa. I'm a stay at home mom, and I'm married to my best friend, Mike. He's chief deputy in our county jail. We have two daughters, Abby who is 9, and Emily is 5. Emily is our dream/wish kid.
We're very boring people to be honest, lol! We live in a tiny rural town, and don't get out much
. We have to travel so far to get anywhere, and well...Emily is one very expensive kiddo. I take pictures and lots of them and my husband is your typical law enforcement type. Our girls keep us very busy.
Speaking of the girls, they are way easier to talk about than myself, so I'll gush about them. Abby is the sweetest most giving kid you could ever meet. She's my straight A student, I never have to get onto her about anything, and you couldn't ask for a better big sister. She has an amazing eye for art and loves to create things. She's spent the summer at a local ranch/equestrian ministry and is learning so much. I can just see her interests blossoming. She's also stoked for school to start back. Yup, she's one of those kids, lol! She is as excited about Emily's dream Emily is and can't wait.
Here's some pics of Abby:
Emily, our wish kid. I don't even know where to start with this kid! She's brilliant and so animated, that there is not a day that goes by that we don't laugh. She has a love for and understanding of animals that goes far beyond the average child's and has been riding horses for several months now at the same ranch that my older daughter attends. She can sing like nobody's business. Unfortunately, her family are the only ones that get to enjoy her antics. She has difficulty in social situations and selective mutism. She's had health issues since birth, lots of random, seemingly unrelated issues which we finally discovered this year, were all due to mitochondrial disease. She's a squirt, standing at 39 inches tall, and just around 30lbs and will be 6 in November. Her biggest issue as a result of the Mito is GI dysmotility, meaning her gut just doesn't work. She is fed by tube directly into her intestines, and we drain her stomach as it doesn't empty on it's own. She also experiences a lot of issues, like muscle weakness, fatigue, temp. regulation problems, her vision is very poor, a simple cold usually means a week inpatient and her social issues all stem from her Mito. But, she is this awesome little critter, and I wouldn't trade her for anything. What she's been through has made her who she is, and who she is...is amazing. Her dream was to go to Disney World and meet Buzz Lightyear and Pluto. No princesses for my little tomboy! She's sooooo excited about Animal Kingdom, she can barely contain herself.
Some pics of Miss E:
We are all newbies to Disney for the most part. I went once when I was 11 years old, so uh...without giving away my age, it was a loooong time ago. We are absolutely ecstatic and having a hard time even wrapping our minds around it! It's been a tough few years around here, not only with Emily's health, but it seems like we've had one hit after another. I wouldn't even start the pre-trip report until I got official world she was approved because it was too hard to believe it could actually happen!
I'm not sure what questions to ask or where to even start. Please feel free to give us any advice or info. you think might be helpful to Disney virgins.
Looking forward to planning with some experienced people. We don't have dates yet, and as far as that goes, we are totally open so we plan to tell them we can go whenever. We are also planning to drive. Wheelchair, a weeks worth of ready to feed formula, bags, meds, plus clothes for all of us....well, I just don't want to deal with all of it through an airport. Other than that, that's about all we have figured out in terms of what we want.
Um...I guess that's it for now. One final *happy dance*!
I'm Melissa. I'm a stay at home mom, and I'm married to my best friend, Mike. He's chief deputy in our county jail. We have two daughters, Abby who is 9, and Emily is 5. Emily is our dream/wish kid.
We're very boring people to be honest, lol! We live in a tiny rural town, and don't get out much
. We have to travel so far to get anywhere, and well...Emily is one very expensive kiddo. I take pictures and lots of them and my husband is your typical law enforcement type. Our girls keep us very busy. Speaking of the girls, they are way easier to talk about than myself, so I'll gush about them. Abby is the sweetest most giving kid you could ever meet. She's my straight A student, I never have to get onto her about anything, and you couldn't ask for a better big sister. She has an amazing eye for art and loves to create things. She's spent the summer at a local ranch/equestrian ministry and is learning so much. I can just see her interests blossoming. She's also stoked for school to start back. Yup, she's one of those kids, lol! She is as excited about Emily's dream Emily is and can't wait.
Here's some pics of Abby:
Emily, our wish kid. I don't even know where to start with this kid! She's brilliant and so animated, that there is not a day that goes by that we don't laugh. She has a love for and understanding of animals that goes far beyond the average child's and has been riding horses for several months now at the same ranch that my older daughter attends. She can sing like nobody's business. Unfortunately, her family are the only ones that get to enjoy her antics. She has difficulty in social situations and selective mutism. She's had health issues since birth, lots of random, seemingly unrelated issues which we finally discovered this year, were all due to mitochondrial disease. She's a squirt, standing at 39 inches tall, and just around 30lbs and will be 6 in November. Her biggest issue as a result of the Mito is GI dysmotility, meaning her gut just doesn't work. She is fed by tube directly into her intestines, and we drain her stomach as it doesn't empty on it's own. She also experiences a lot of issues, like muscle weakness, fatigue, temp. regulation problems, her vision is very poor, a simple cold usually means a week inpatient and her social issues all stem from her Mito. But, she is this awesome little critter, and I wouldn't trade her for anything. What she's been through has made her who she is, and who she is...is amazing. Her dream was to go to Disney World and meet Buzz Lightyear and Pluto. No princesses for my little tomboy! She's sooooo excited about Animal Kingdom, she can barely contain herself.
Some pics of Miss E:
We are all newbies to Disney for the most part. I went once when I was 11 years old, so uh...without giving away my age, it was a loooong time ago. We are absolutely ecstatic and having a hard time even wrapping our minds around it! It's been a tough few years around here, not only with Emily's health, but it seems like we've had one hit after another. I wouldn't even start the pre-trip report until I got official world she was approved because it was too hard to believe it could actually happen!
I'm not sure what questions to ask or where to even start. Please feel free to give us any advice or info. you think might be helpful to Disney virgins.
Looking forward to planning with some experienced people. We don't have dates yet, and as far as that goes, we are totally open so we plan to tell them we can go whenever. We are also planning to drive. Wheelchair, a weeks worth of ready to feed formula, bags, meds, plus clothes for all of us....well, I just don't want to deal with all of it through an airport. Other than that, that's about all we have figured out in terms of what we want.
Um...I guess that's it for now. One final *happy dance*!
Hi Melissa! 
Cant wait to read more about your plans!!! 
Thanks for the PICS of you and DH...it helps to visualize who I am reading about! 
I doubt we'd ever be able to go on our own expense, especially to be able to do as much as we are going to have the chance to do. It really does feel like a dream!
.
